Trouble
by ALEO
Summary: Don goes hiking, but it is never that simple is it? NB: Follows after “Wildfire” but can be read alone. Short, and COMPLETE.
1. Chapter 1

**Numb3rs: Trouble**

**Disclaimer** – I don't own them, I just borrowed them. Numb3rs and its characters are the property of those that created them. No copyright infringement intended. No financial reward gained. All real organisations are used in a fictional sense. Original characters and the storyline are mine however.

_A/N: In the Green Valley Lake area 105 homes were lost in the recent fires – this story takes place after my earlier story "Wildfire" where very few homes in the area were damaged._

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Don Eppes made his rapid way up the familiar trail. Since the whole episode at the mall last Christmas whenever he'd felt the need to get away and unwind he went hiking. He'd been to various trails in the mountains above LA but seemed to return to this area on a semi regular basis. Maybe it was because he knew the local Sheriff, John Towers of Green Valley Lake and his excellent Sunday night roast or maybe it was just the scenery, fresh and green as it recovered from the wildfire quite a few months back. The forest was recovering just as he had recovered from breaking his leg after a tree fell on him. The tree had had some assistance but that was another story. His leg was fully healed, although on cooler nights in his tent he was sure he could feel the plates and screws.

Reaching the top of the ridge he turned west and headed towards Little Green Valley. It was formerly a YMCA camp but the US Forest Service had restored the valley, allowing limited camping. Because of his late start it wasn't long before dark when he reached the clearing. Working quickly and efficiently he set up his two man dome tent and prepared his fire in the permanent fireplace. Digging out a well seasoned saucepan he poured in some tinned stew and placed it onto the fire.

Barely half an hour after he'd arrived he was sitting back nursing a coffee whilst his dinner heated. He might be away from the pressures of work back in LA at the FBI Field Office but he couldn't forgo his caffeine fix. It was one of those self heating lattes that Megan was so fond of, the same type that Charlie had played with at the office a while ago demonstrating one of his theories. Not as strong as he would like even if it claimed to be double-shot, but it was hot and convenient and quicker than waiting for water to boil on a campfire. Besides which he only had one saucepan and he was hungry as well as caffeine deprived.

Despite the addition of the stimulant into his system he felt relaxed. Out here he was just plain Don Eppes. He didn't even have a gun, he'd left that locked up in Sheriff Tower's safe. He still had his badge and ID but it was tucked well away inside his backpack where he was unlikely to come across it unless he dug for it. His cell phone was likewise buried, the unit useless as there was no reception here on the southern side of Green Valley Lake.

It was just him and the mountain, unless he encountered other hikers. He'd seen two today at one point away in the distance on another ridge. The trails in this area branched off from the main trail up to the ridge but some crossed over each other further along making it difficult to tell which trail the other hikers had been on. Despite his own rapid pace he'd not caught up with them and that suited him just fine.

His plan was to overnight here, sleep in and take a relaxing walk around the meadow before heading back down to the trailhead. He was then going to drive over to the Sheriff's for roast dinner and spend a few hours regaling his son Max with the latest stories from the FBI. Max had plans to join the bureau when he got older. That was also just fine with Don, Max was a good kid and had his head screwed on right. He might be a fan of the old black-and-white movies but he understood that was all make believe and that the real world was different. With a small town Sheriff as his father he had a good understanding of the real world.

After eating his heated dinner Don crawled into his sleeping bag and despite the early hour he was asleep within minutes. The quietness of the forest and lack of possible distractions or dangers allowed him to relax completely.

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"Hello?"

Don realised that the voice had repeated itself several times before he was finally awake enough to notice it. Someone was outside the tent. Opening his eyes he saw that it was still dark, a glance at the luminous face of his watch showed it to be just after 11pm.

"Hello?" The male voice repeated, accompanied this time by his tent being shaken.

"Coming." Don responded.

He kicked his way out of the sleeping bag and grabbed his maglite flashlight. He undid the zipper and pulled the two sections apart so that he could see out before actually leaving the tent. The flimsy material wasn't any protection but he would make do with what he had. In the moonlight he could make out a young man sitting back on his heels just an arms length away. A girl was lying beside the embers of the fire. Both looked to be about eighteen years old. The girl was slender and the kid looked like a jock. Don crawled out and stood, the kid likewise rising to his feet.

"Can I help you?" Don asked. This was the last thing he expected, visitors in the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere.

"My girlfriend's hurt." The kid said. "She twisted her ankle earlier and we've been trying to make it back to the campground to get help."

Don looked them both over, they weren't carrying packs nor did they have flashlights or any other equipment. Clearly they were not prepared to spend the night out in the forest. "You'll have to rest up here for the night. The trail is too dangerous in the dark." The moonlight was bright enough out here in the meadow but in amongst the trees it wouldn't provide enough illumination to allow for safe navigation of the trail.

"Could we borrow your flashlight?"

Don glanced at the maglite in his hand before looking back at the kid. He seemed to be in a hurry. "Even with the flashlight it will be too dangerous, especially with one busted ankle. You're better off waiting for morning."

The kid looked towards the inky blackness of the tree line. He conceded the point reluctantly. "I guess you're right."

"You can stay here. I'll get the fire going again."

"Thanks." The kid moved over to his girlfriend's side. "Do you have anything to drink or maybe to eat? We haven't had anything all day."

_All day?_ Don thought that a little odd, to be this far out meant but carrying no equipment meant that they had planned a day hike and who didn't take lunch with them? But it didn't really matter. They were hungry and thirsty and he had some excess supplies. Don set about bringing the fire back to life, feeding it more kindling. A few minutes later the camp was filled with a warm yellow glow from the flames. He set his saucepan full of water onto the edge of the fire to heat. He pulled his pack from the tent and retrieved the first aid kit.

"Let me have a look at that ankle." Don asked moving around the fire to where his unexpected guests were sitting. The girl obediently extended her right leg. "My name is Don Eppes. And you are?"

"Tammy. And this is my boyfriend Andy."

He gently pulled the running shoe and sock from Tammy's right ankle. It was swollen but in the bright light of the flashlight didn't seem discoloured. Don dug into the kit and came up with a sturdy bandage which he started wrapping around the ankle to provide support.

"There, that should help. Looks like it's probably just a sprain." Don declared. "How did you do it?"

"Slipped on some loose rock just up the trail." Andy answered. "We sat and waited for a while hoping someone would come by but no one did. We decided we had to head back down."

"I've got a car down at the campground. I'll drop you at the doctors in Green Valley Lake in the morning." Packing away the first aid kit he missed the glance that passed between Tammy and Andy.

"That sounds great, thanks." Andy said after a slightly longish pause.

"No problem." Don put the kit away and pulled out some instant coffee and another tin of stew. "I hope you don't mind sharing the mug, I only brought one."

Andy accepted the mug and jar of coffee. He mixed up a cup adding a generous portion of condensed milk from the tube offered.

_Talkative pair_, Don thought a little sarcastically. Although being the middle of the night and not really feeling all that talkative himself he felt that some information exchange was called for considering the circumstances. "So, where are you guys from?"

"We-" Tammy started but stopped, glancing at Andy.

"We're from Green Valley Lake." Andy supplied. He'd seen Don's slight frown at Tammy's hesitation and turned back to his girlfriend. "It's alright, Tammy. He's not an axe murderer so it doesn't hurt if he knows where we live."

"Too many horror films, huh?" Don remembered being Andy's age. A horror movie was the best movie to take a date to, but on the down side they did tend to spook some girls afterwards.

Andy favoured him with a knowing smile. "Where are you from?"

"LA. Just come up for the weekend. I like to squeeze in a little hiking now and then."

Andy nodded. "Nice up here. Even we locals go hiking a lot."

Don thought that explained their lack of preparedness. The two were familiar with the trail and would just go hiking on a whim. Their familiarity with the area would lead them to complacency and hence no equipment. Although the running shoes that Tammy had been wearing were a little out of place. But then again, kids did whatever they felt was best whether or not it was actually the best thing. The joggers were probably the latest style or something.

The stew started bubbling away, the process helped along but the small amount of hot water Don had left in the pot after Andy had made his coffee. The water helped to increase the portion size so that the one can would stretch to feed both of them. He handed the saucepan over along with a fork and a spoon. He really wasn't prepared for guests, carrying just the minimum in cutlery. When they'd finished he rinsed the empty pot and prepared to go back to bed. He felt a little guilty at crawling back into his sleeping bag but it was a warmish night and they had the fire after all.

It was barely light when he woke. The sound of metal against metal startled him for a moment before he remembered his guests. It sounded like and yes, smelt like, someone was making coffee. It was earlier than he wanted but considering that the girl was likely to be in some pain from her ankle he got up. He rubbed his hand over his hair, glad now that he'd opted for the buzz cut recently. No bed hair. Don rapidly packed his sleeping bag into its microscopic bag and looked around for his pack before remembering that he'd left it outside after putting the first aid kit back into the lower section. He unzipped the tent and climbed out.

"Morning."

"Morning." Andy replied. "Coffee?"

"Thanks." He accepted the cup and automatically sniffed before drinking it. It was strong, _good_. "How's the ankle?"

"Sore." Tammy answered. "I didn't get much sleep."

"I'm not surprised. We'll be back in town soon enough." He hoped that the doctor's rooms had an after hours number on the door. Failing that Sheriff Towers should be able to arrange an EMT.

Don set about preparing breakfast, so called instant porridge that took five minutes to cook once the water was boiling again. He poured his own portion into his cup and gave his guests the saucepan. He finished his first and started breaking down and packing away his tent. He glanced at his watch, he'd been up for all of twenty minutes and now they were ready to leave the meadow.

With Andy's help Tammy made a reasonable pace along the trail, helped somewhat by the mostly gradual descent after they left the ridge. The steeper sections slowed them down as they had to work a bit harder to ensure their footing. But still they made it down quicker than Don had expected. They reached a small clearing not far from the final descent to the campground and the parking lot. Don suggested that they rest up whilst he checked out the trail ahead to see just how much further they had to go.

He soon discovered that he had been right, they weren't far from the final descent. Barely a couple of hundred yards further along he rounded a bend giving him a view down into the Green Valley Campground and the parking lot at the head of the trail. He saw a Sheriff's department 4WD along with a second car and a US Forest Service truck. Something looked to be up but with the manpower waiting down there they could only help him get Andy and the injured Tammy down to medical assistance quicker. Don turned and backtracked to give them the good news.

"Rest here." Don said when he reached the pair.

"But we're nearly back at your car." Andy objected.

"The Sheriff's down there with some men. He'll be able help us get Tammy to the doctor." Don turned and started to head back towards the trail head.

"No, stop!" The voice was accompanied by a clicking sound.

Don knew that sound, there was only one thing that sounded like that. He stopped and took a breath. _How did these things keep happening to him?_ He slowly turned to face the gun and the young man that held it. "What are you doing?"

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	2. Chapter 2

**Numb3rs: Trouble**

**Disclaimer** – I don't own them, I just borrowed them. Numb3rs and its characters are the property of those that created them. No copyright infringement intended. No financial reward gained. All real organisations are used in a fictional sense. Original characters and the storyline are mine however.

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"I'm sorry. I really am." Andy said, but Don felt that the kid's voice lacked a certain sincerity. He motioned with the gun and waited as Don walked back towards him. "We want to avoid the Sheriff."

"I can tell." Don said dryly. "What I would like to know is why?"

"Tammy and I," Andy started. "Well, we're not supposed to be together."

That was hardly sufficient grounds for pulling out a gun. "And?"

"We are really not supposed to be together. The court issued the order last week. But I can't not be with Tammy." Andy explained.

"What court order is that?"

"I was sentenced last week but it was suspended in favour of a restraining order."

"Why is there a restraining order stopping you from being with Tammy?" Don looked to the girl in question. At no time had she shown any concern or fear to be in Andy's company. Worried about something yes, but it was clear that she was not afraid of Andy.

"Her dad wanted to keep us apart. We got into a fight and he got me charged. He pushed for the restraining order."

Great, star crossed lovers. They had the whole Romeo and Juliet thing happening and from what little he could recall of that story it didn't turn out well. He remembered that they had seemed totally unprepared to be hiking with no equipment. He'd written that off as complacency but now in combination with the gun and this restraining order issue Don was led to a simple conclusion. These two were on the run. He reasoned that as a gun had been produced something more serious than a breach of a restraining order had happened. "Anything else? How did you come to be up here on the trail?"

"Dad didn't want me to go with Andy. He caught us as we were leaving." Tammy provided. A tear rolled down her face, "Andy…"

"No." Andy interrupted. "Don't say anything else. He's FBI remember, he'll use it against us."

Don frowned in surprise, _how did they know that?_

Andy looked back up at Don correctly interpreting the look. "I found your ID in your backpack."

"I see." Some FBI agent he was, not noticing that his backpack had been tossed whilst he slept. Even more worrying was the fact that the kid knew what he was but still pulled a gun on him.

"Didn't find a gun though, I thought you guys were always armed?"

"Usually." Don admitted. In the future he was going to carry his weapon, not that it would have helped in this scenario.

"So where is it?" Andy demanded. "In your car?"

"No. I left it with the Sheriff, figured I didn't need it up here." Don looked to Andy's gun, a .22 semi-automatic, small and easy to conceal which explained why he hadn't noticed that the young man was armed. He returned his gaze to Andy's face. "So you shot Tammy's father?"

Andy's grip tightened on the gun. The kid tried for tough. "I wouldn't worry about Tammy's father."

Don felt that was answer enough to his question. He closed his eyes for a moment and sighed. It just wasn't fair. He was going to need Charlie to do him up an algorithm listing safe places for him to go when he was on a break. Don was no mathematician but his ability to find trouble was far beyond any statistical probability that he could imagine. "Alright. So what now? We can't sit here forever and Tammy still needs a doctor for that ankle."

"We need to get to your car and out of here. Just like we planned."

Don realised that his plan and Andy's plan had been somewhat different. It was obvious now that they wouldn't have been stopping at the local doctor's surgery in town, Andy would have pulled the gun and hijacked him before then. The Sheriff waiting in the campground had soured that plan before it could be put into motion.

"Not as you planned." Don said. "Not any more."

"I guess not." Andy looked back down the trail. "How long before they get here?"

"No idea. They were still in the parking lot." It had looked like the group was ready to head out but he wasn't going to tell them that.

"Search party though, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then we gotta get away from here." He stepped away from Tammy and motioned with the gun. "Help her up."

Don sighed. He had no choice for the moment. Not wanting to spook Andy he slowly approached the injured girl and helped her to her feet. Andy moved around behind him as he settled Tammy's arm over his shoulders. Cold metal touched the back of his neck briefly.

"Don't try anything stupid or hurt her in any way. Understand?"

"I get it." Don replied shortly and the gun moved away. Television had a lot to answer for; a gun was sufficient enough threat without needing to be put against the back of a hostage's neck. _Damned effective though_.

"Back up the trail. I saw an overgrown spur back about quarter of a mile. We'll be able to hide up there until they've passed us."

Don started moving, adjusting his pace and stride to best suit Tammy. So, Andy was still intending on them making their escape via the agent's SUV. "Tammy, this is foolish." He started after they'd been moving for a few minutes. Andy was following a couple of metres behind them.

"We have to get away." She said.

"I appreciate that, but have you thought this through either of you?" He raised his voice enough to be heard by the young man behind them.

"Just keep moving." Andy ordered.

"Whatever you've done you can't spend the rest of your life on the run. The longer you stay out there the harder it will be when you are caught."

"We're not going to get caught. Once we're off this mountain we'll disappear. LA is a big city."

"Sure it is, but not big enough. I know what I'm talking about."

"They're not going to catch us."

Don shook his head. It was the invulnerability of youth that led to that rash statement. Andy believed what he was saying. He decided that there was no point in continuing this argument at the moment. Much more important was the question of what Andy planned to do next and how Don was going to get himself out of this situation. Concentrating on his thoughts he made no further comment as they continued back along the trail.

They reached the spur Andy mentioned and pushed their way through the overhanging brush. They stopped for a moment as Andy adjusted the bushes to make it less obvious that anyone had passed this way. He waved them on along the faint but visible trail for another hundred yards or so before calling a halt. Don gently set Tammy down and moved aside.

"Sit down."

He slid his pack off his back and reluctantly complied. He was somewhat relieved a moment later when Andy crouched beside his girlfriend. He hated having anyone stand over him. "So what is the plan Andy?"

"We get to your car and you drive us out of here, just like before." He repeated.

"Hiding here isn't going to help. They will leave someone down there to keep watch."

"Then there'll just be the one cop to get past."

"Not as easy as it sounds Andy."

"We got you. He'll let us pass."

"It's not like the movies. This is a real cop we're talking about. There are a whole raft of policies and procedures relating to this type of situation."

"I don't care what policies and procedures he has. This should be enough." Andy waggled the gun at him. "He does as we say or you get hurt."

"Killing me will get you killed." Don turned to Tammy. He hoped she would be more reasonable, girls usually were. "What do you think about all this?"

"I love Andy. Whatever he does will be the right thing for us. You need to listen to him."

So much for that theory, Tammy wasn't going to be helpful. "It doesn't bother you that he is prepared to kill me or a cop to get away?"

She reached out her hand and rested it on Andy's knee. "He doesn't want to kill anyone unless he has to."

That was so not reassuring. "Alright, say we get past the cop and I drive you to LA. What then, I drop you off on a street corner and you let me go?" He decided to leave aside the fact that there would be a BOLO on his SUV before they'd gone more than a few miles followed by the highly probable pursuit as a consequence before they could make it into LA proper. He'd been there, done that and really didn't want to do it again.

"Yep."

"Just like that?"

"Why not? By the time you call in the feds or the LAPD we'll have disappeared."

Unfortunately he would have to give Andy that one. It was possible to vanish quickly in LA. But then the sightings would come in and sooner or later, most probably sooner, Andy would make a mistake. On the other hand if they made it that far it meant that his neck wouldn't be on the line during Andy's subsequent capture. Unlike now.

Andy suddenly tensed before leaping to his feet.

He hadn't heard anything. "Wha-?" He cut the word off as the gun lifted. He supposed that Andy being familiar with the area would be more likely to notice a change in the forest than him. It was quicker than he expected but it was possible that the searchers were approaching. He briefly considered giving away their position to bring the searchers to them but then discarded the idea. There were two possible outcomes that immediately sprung to mind. One he could be shot out of hand and thus whatever happened after that hardly mattered and two, it could panic Andy causing a firefight that would result in numerous casualties. He kept silent. The status quo at the moment was the safest option for both himself, the two fugitives and for the searchers. Much though he hated to admit it Andy's half-baked plan was probably the best option for them at the moment. Despite what he'd said earlier he probably could talk their way past the deputy that would be standing guard below.

Assuming that Andy wasn't going to simply surrender that was. _As assumptions went, that was a fairly safe one_, Don thought. However that brought to mind the fact that he hadn't actually made the suggestion yet. Sometimes all it took to resolve a hostage situation was to ask for surrender. He didn't really believe it would be that simple with Andy but he had to try.

It was a good five minutes before Andy relaxed. "They've gone. Help her up."

Now was as good a time as any. He stood but made no move towards Tammy. "There is another option Andy."

"What's that?"

"Give me the gun and we walk out of here."

"You think I'm stupid or something?" Andy hissed bringing the gun up to point directly at the agent's head.

"Easy." Don lifted his hands and motioned downwards trying to calm the kid. "It was just a suggestion."

"A stupid one."

The flippant _'so shoot me'_ that hovered on his lips went unsaid. Somehow he didn't think it would be appropriate right about now.

The gun jerked towards Tammy as Andy repeated his command. "Help her up."

Don reached first for his pack but Andy vetoed that. Letting it drop he pulled Tammy to her feet and once again settled her arm over his shoulders. He started back to the main trail, slower now than before after Andy added the admonishment: "Quietly."

Upon reaching the main trail they stopped as Andy listened intently in both directions. Satisfied he waved Don on. Negotiating the steps cut into the final section slowed them considerably as he had to work at keeping his balance with Tammy hopping down one step at a time. He had suggested that Tammy could use the rail but Andy had insisted he keep helping the girl. Don could see a sensible reason for that, Don would be occupied and unable to make any move against him without risking harm to Tammy. Andy knew that as an FBI agent Don would try to avoid that if possible even if she was an accomplice. Once they reached the short flat section at the end of the trail Andy moved up close behind them. Don's breathing quickened; they were fast approaching a dangerous confrontation.

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_A/N: Just one more chapter to go…_


	3. Chapter 3

**Numb3rs: Trouble**

**Disclaimer** – I don't own them, I just borrowed them. Numb3rs and its characters are the property of those that created them. No copyright infringement intended. No financial reward gained. All real organisations are used in a fictional sense. Original characters and the storyline are mine however.

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When they made their way around the last bend and came within full sight of the parking lot Don was surprised to see the Sheriff and four deputies still there. It must have been an advance party that had headed up the trail with just a couple of deputies. There was a shout and a sudden flurry of activity, they'd been spotted. Two deputies moved sideways to give themselves more room and drew their weapons. The third man sprinted for the marked car and Don saw him grab a rifle bag before ducking down behind it. The fourth on the far side of the Sheriff's 4WD stayed where he was. A map sitting on the bonnet of the vehicle around which they'd all just been clustered blew away in the light breeze.

Andy swore before grabbing Don firmly around his shoulders, pulling him up against him as a shield. The gun pressed against the side of his head. Tammy pulled free of Don's support and ducked in behind them. Andy pushed his hostage and they slowly moved forwards out onto the dirt parking lot.

Sheriff Towers walked calmly forward as they continued to advance. Finally they stopped a few yards apart.

"Agent."

"Sheriff." Don responded in kind.

"So, what're you doing?" The Sheriff's tone was light. He was also apparently ignoring Andy.

"Oh, nothing. The usual. What brings you up this way?" Don was a little surprised at the Sheriff's tactics but played along.

"Your friends there actually. But since you have it all under control…"

"I wouldn't dream of stepping on your toes, Sheriff." The agent replied. By the way the kid's grip tightened around his shoulders Don knew that their light hearted bantering was annoying him. If he was annoyed he wouldn't be thinking things through properly. That could work to their advantage, or it might not. He would have to rely on the Sheriff's judgement. "It's your jurisdiction."

"In that case, do you mind if we take it from here?"

"Not at all."

"Shut up!" Andy had finally had enough. He wasn't being taken seriously enough for his liking. "Everyone shut up."

"That's the problem with young folks today, too damn rude." Towers commented.

"Impatient too." Don added despite the pistol being pressed more firmly into his temple. His tone was light but his eyes were serious, staring at Towers. "He has places he wants to be."

"Where is that precisely?"

"Get your keys out." Andy growled into Don's ear, ignoring the question.

Don obediently reached into his pocket and pulled out the keys to his SUV holding them up. They were snatched from his hand by Tammy.

"Tammy's getting into the Fed's car. No one tries to stop her."

"Sure thing, son. Not a problem." Towers acknowledged. The girl wasn't armed, they could deal with her at their leisure.

Tammy stopped after a couple of yards and looked confused, staring at the vehicles arranged around the parking lot. Along with the vehicles Don had spotted earlier and his SUV there were a few other vehicles from other hikers. The same one's he had seen yesterday as he'd arrived. Those hikers would still be on the trail somewhere, not likely to have headed in so early.

"The black suburban." Don supplied helpfully. "The one with the government tags."

Tammy found the vehicle he was talking about and limped painfully over to it. The fourth deputy kept pace with her, his weapon up and aimed at her which clearly made her nervous. She managed to unlock the door and climbed in. A moment later the engine started and Don watched her slide across to the passenger seat. The deputy moved around to keep her in his sights. She may have appeared to be unarmed but they weren't going to take any chances.

"Planning on going for a drive?" Towers asked Don as the suburban idled in the background.

"So it seems. Not really on my list of things to do today. I was kinda looking forward to your roast dinner."

"I'm afraid that's off, Agent. Other pressing matters."

"Sorry to hear that." Don was carefully watching Towers' face for clues, a flick of the eyes one way and then the other. Don moved his own gaze and saw the two officers inching forwards into position. Andy was letting them get way too close, distracted by the way his hostage and the local police were ignoring him. Don glanced back at the Sheriff, the man's eyes narrowing as his body tensed ever so slightly. The agent looked behind Towers and saw the sharpshooter positioned over the bonnet of the marked car a short distance away. From that range he couldn't miss. "Anything I can do to help?"

"Shut up!" Andy repeated giving his hostage a slight shake. "We're leaving. Anyone tries anything and I shoot him."

"You've got a long drive ahead of you." Towers stated. It would be fairly obvious that LA was the most probable destination. "How was your night?"

Don got it immediately. Time started to slow as he prepared himself. They started to move forward towards his SUV. "Restless." He answered letting the Sheriff know that he understood.

It would have to be now, any longer and Andy would figure it out. As they took the next step they were off balance for just an instant. Don went limp, dropping all his body weight suddenly onto the restraining arm around his shoulders. Andy wasn't prepared and was unable to support the unexpected weight. Don dropped free leaving the kid totally exposed to the sharpshooter. Don rolled to put as much space between him and Andy as he could.

Instead of a shot he heard a scuffle. He sat up to see two deputies wrestling with Andy, the .22 semi-automatic lying on the ground nearby. It must have been jarred out of Andy's hand as Don had dropped. It was over in seconds, Andy was no match for the two burly deputies. Don climbed to his feet and dusted himself off.

"Are you okay Don?" Towers asked, concerned.

"I'm good." Don watched as the two deputies finished securing Andy. He looked over towards his SUV to see that the other deputy had pulled Tammy from the idling vehicle and was locking handcuffs around her wrists as well. "So what's the story with these two anyway? I got the impression that Andy shot Tammy's father."

"He did. The old man died this morning." Sheriff Towers answered all trace of the light hearted bantering gone.

"Oh." He'd hoped it wasn't as serious as all that. "When did all this go down?"

"Just after you left yesterday. If I'd known then that they were likely to head up this trail instead of hightailing it out of town…"

"You couldn't have known, otherwise you would have had your men on the trail just behind me." Don told the man, he had no reason to feel any guilt over Don's misadventure. "What led you to think they were here to start a search now?"

"We spoke to their friends. Turns out they always came up here, more so when they were having problems with their families. I figured this more than qualified. After we'd finally got that bit of information this morning I came up here to scout it out and found their car abandoned a short distance away. We got a preliminary search party together and you know the rest."

"Where'd the kid get a gun?"

"It belonged to Tammy's father. Seems the two got into a wrestle over the gun and her dad lost."

"Not premeditated then?"

"No. Seems that one thing led to the other."

"They didn't really tell me what happened but that's the feeling I got. Andy was trying to figure out everything on the fly."

"Andrew Archer and Tammy Moran. Young love and a disapproving father finally led to this." Towers said sadly. Deputies closed car doors after the pair. Where Andy and Tammy were going they were unlikely to be opening or closing their own doors for years. "What a waste."

"Been brewing for a while?"

"You could say that, but no one ever expected this."

"No one does." Don said in sympathy. He clapped the Sheriff on the shoulder to break him out of his reverie. "I'll follow you in."

As they headed out of the campground they stopped briefly as the Sheriff encountered some vehicles bringing more searchers to the area. The other vehicles let them pass before turning around and following them back to town. They then went their separate ways as Don followed the Sheriff to his office.

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"You know, Agent Eppes, I think I will have to start putting more men on when you come to town."

"How's that?" Don was climbing into his suburban ready to head back down to LA and his apartment. It was late. He'd helped the Sheriff arrange for the two prisoners to be transported to a holding facility in Los Angeles before typing up his statement. It was now well and truly dark and actually not that far off midnight. If things had gone to plan he should have been home by now.

"Humph!" Clearly the FBI agent was missing the point. "You've been up here how many times now?"

"Five."

"So now two of those times you've found an armed offender." Towers summarised, leaning in through his window.

"It wasn't my fault Megan and I stumbled on the crop sitter. You sent us there." His voice was mild, the accusation an in-joke now. "And anyway, this time they found me."

"What are the odds of that?"

Don laughed despite having those same thoughts earlier. "If you talked to Charlie I'm sure he would be happy to work that out for you. He thinks there is some special anomaly that surrounds me." Don had brought Charlie up once to visit and he'd got on famously with young Max.

"I think I have to agree with him on that." Towers looked at him appraisingly. "You're planning on driving down to LA now?"

"Sure. I've had my relaxing weekend away." He allowed a degree of sarcasm to creep in. "I've got to go to work in the morning."

"I'd say you were owed some time in lieu. Stay with me tonight, I guarantee you a breakfast to remember. You can drive in to your office after the rush hour traffic. I'll even write your boss a note if you want." The last was added with a twinkle in his eye.

'Time in lieu', now there was a concept that didn't get much use. Don briefly tried to work out just how much time was owed him but gave up. It definitely required higher level math and Charlie wasn't here. And that was just considering the last month. He stifled a yawn as he realised he really was tired. He mustered the energy for a grin; playing hookey definitely had its appeal. "Why not? If it's not too much trouble for Sandra?"

"Not at all, we always keep the spare room made up. Being a small town Sheriff I pick up all sorts of strays. I'll meet you there."

Don's head hit the pillow twenty minutes later. Two minutes after that he was asleep and dreaming about breakfast.

END

_A/N: And we're done. A little off the wall but that is how Towers wanted to play it. Thanks for all the reviews_.


End file.
